FOXBORO – Doug Flutie claimed yesterday he was no Deep Throat. He couldn’t offer up any Chargers secrets for his new teammates to exploit.

At least, that’s what he tried to make everyone believe when asked what tips he may have given Tom Brady & Co. about his former team’s defense.

“What they do on film, the coaches take care of all that. All I can do is help a little bit personnel-wise,'’ Flutie said. “What their strengths are, even that in itself, the guys learn on their own watching film. It’s not a big advantage (having me). Maybe it gives us a little jump-start from a personnel standpoint.'’

Mostly, Flutie has told his mates something they already know: The Chargers are a pretty good football team.

Flutie has played with Walter Payton while in Chicago, and LaDainian Tomlinson while in San Diego, both considered the best of their time.

“Both are tremendous runners. Obviously, for guys who aren’t that big, they run physically,'’ Flutie said. “Walter was exceptional in the passing game. Walter threw halfback passes for touchdowns. LT is that same type of talented guy who has a lot of skills. I’m not saying they’re the same. Time will tell.'’

Flutie said he forged a strong bond with quarterback Drew Brees, who was in danger of losing his starting job to Philip Rivers a season ago.

“Last year, basically that organization had given up on (Brees). They were trying to trade Drew. If it weren’t for Philip holding out at training camp, Philip might have been the starter,'’ Flutie said. “So then all of a sudden, Drew had his back to the wall, and said, `OK, I’ll show you.’ He worked as hard as I’ve seen anyone work.

“He actually struggled at the beginning of the year. They were probably close to pulling the switch, pulling the plug, but he cranked it up, took it to a whole other level, and he played exceptional football.'’

As for Flutie, he says he’s happy having moved on from San Diego to New England, where he’s riding shotgun to Brady.

“It’s been great working with Tom,'’ he said. “Being in this atmosphere. I’m very happy it worked out. If it didn’t, I would have retired.'’